08 July 2011

Time for Pets--Cats Revisited

Welcome back. May I finish telling you about our cats, Lassie, Rex and Boss? When I began last week, I included excerpts from notes I’d left for pet sitters. That was a memory jogger for me. Although the earliest notes are gone, there are enough notes left to help me better describe the cats and finally get to Boss’s new voice.Excerpts from Notes to Pet Sitters2004:"Lassie" (grey; charter member, Feline Weight Watchers) should greet you and possibly monitor your visit, though she's getting older, grumpier and less curious. "Boss" (black panther wannabe) may peek around a corner, disappear, reappear and disappear.

Boss (right) and Rex (guess).

"Rex" (camouflage) won't peek around a corner or appear…We generally see her around the third Sunday in the month.

2006/2007: "Lassie"… Age and weight are causing her to rethink her life, but she's the only one of the three who knows and will respond to her name, presuming she feels like it.

"Boss"…has no idea what a name is, much less her own…she's a bit shy and may run away; but she gets confused and may run into you.

"Rex"…you might catch a glimpse of calico looking out the front window when you arrive, but that's about it—unless Boss slams into her by mistake.

Rex, looking out an open front window.

2008: "Lassie" is old and grey, not pregnant, and grumpy in the morning. She… may squawk to be petted…If she weren't weight challenged, she would follow you around...

"Boss" is young, black,…muscles, not brains. She can be shy, even hiss and run away, but she'll likely come back, having forgotten why she ran away.

"Rex" will disappear if she sees, hears or imagines you're coming into the house. If you spot a calico blur…when you arrive, she was daydreaming...

Boss Finds Her Voice

Lassie and Rex spent their days together. Boss was usually somewhere else—a different couch, room, floor, planet.

Rex (left), Lassie (middle), Warren’s

legs (right) celebrating Noah’s birthday.

Lassie and Rex died of unrelated, old-age infirmities within a few weeks of one another.Here is an excerpt from the first note I left when there was only Boss to pet sit.2010:Boss may hide at first. When we had three cats, she never made a sound, not a peep (ok, cats don’t peep, but you know what I mean). Years went by. Now…she whimpers and meows for food and attention, though not very loudly.

Traveling to Wisconsin, the cat that had been utterly silent for some nine years found her true, shrill voice.

Wrap Up

Thank you for letting me finish. I deeply regret that there’s been a change. Due to circumstances beyond my control --waaay beyond-- there’s one more cat I must tell you about. I’ll save that for next week.

Thanks for stopping by.

P.S.

Once again, I invite you to visit my Facebook Page. You may find it of interest. The link is under my Watch List, over there on the right.